Thursday, March 15, 2012

Classics: DS9 7:12 - The Emperor's New Cloak

To be honest, this episode could've been a lot worse. Consider the factors working against its success:

It takes place in the Mirror Universe, which is by now a very, very tired concept.

The FQ - the Ferengi Quotient - is a moderately dangerous three.

Did I mention that it takes place in the Mirror Universe -- otherwise known as the Playground of the Id?

Still, despite these handicaps, The Emperor's New Cloak doesn't really dip into the very depths of suckitude. Sure -- the implausibilities certainly run thick. For example, I find it difficult to believe that the Regent would be able to maintain his power over the Alliance despite his apparent inability to recognize that recruiting a prisoner to install a cloaking device practically invites sabotage. And actually, come to think of it, I find it difficult to believe that nobody in the Mirror Universe has even thought of building their own cloaking devices. Societies advanced enough to have achieved faster-than-light space travel are surely smart enough to develop that technology. But even with such plot holes as this, my primary reaction to this episode is precisely what I recorded above: meh. There's only one thing I actively hated, and that was Rom's ridiculous running commentary. There's no law that says the Mirror Universe has to be Opposite Land. The point of an alternate universe is to tweak one thing and then allow the consequences to unfold of their own accord.